It’s also the story of Jen Kahn and how her company Scenery came to be.
In 2015, Kahn and a friend road-tripped from New York to Maine. They browsed in a store selling handbags made from old sails.
She and her friend had an aha! moment.
Kahn, a professional stage manager, started Scenery and now collects discarded or retired backdrops from all over the country. A Florida factory cuts and stitches them into simple, rectangular clutches. A portion of the proceeds helps take New York kids to see theater.
“The only thing more sad than closing a show is watching it get thrown out,” Kahn says. “I can’t stop shows from closing, but I can help their story live on and, in doing so, continue to give the gift of theater to many more.”